Amy Calfy, Guest Writer
Have you ever been on a mission trip? Would you like to? If you have, would you love to go on another? Did God place it on your heart to take action during Go Week? Is God pointing you towards missions even now?
Well then, what are you waiting for? It is time to sign up for the summer of 2014 mission trips!
Joel Mullen, the University Pastor of Student Ministries, encourages anyone who wants to go on a mission trip this coming summer to sign up for it before Thanksgiving. Summer may seem a long way off right now, but the final deadline to sign up for mission trips is January 15. Signing up by Thanksgiving would ensure being able to find out what team you are on by December 10.
There are six confirmed sites for Mission Trips this coming summer: two different teams going to Swaziland and teams going to Germany, Haiti, Brazil and Australia.
The first Swaziland team will work with the HIV/AIDS Task Force and Manna Farms. The HIV/AIDS Task Force trip will involve going into the homes of people with aids, providing care for and ministering to them. Manna Farms is an area where pastors are taught job skills so that when they go to pastor a church, they will be able to learn a skill and support their family. The second Swaziland team will be supporting the Luke Commission, an organization that provides free health care and the good news of Jesus Christ to Swazis who live in isolated areas.
The team that goes to Germany will be supporting a Nazarene church in Frankfurt. They will be doing outreach to university students. The church has a coffee shop that is used to provide jobs and revenue for the church, but it also provides a place for evening activities and concerts. The Germany team will also do outreach to the elderly. This team will specialize in doing relational ministry.
The Haiti team will be split into two sub teams. One sub team will support a medical clinic. The other will be doing construction work on a school that was hit by an earthquake and is now being rebuilt.
The Brazil team will travel to two different sites. The first site, Atibaia, will involve working at a Christian school, which is also attended by non-christians. This will involve helping to teach English, running after school activities and doing relational ministry. The second site is Campinas, where the team members will work with a Nazarene church to do outreach and will involve working with kids in VBS type activities.
The team that goes to Australia will work with the Kimberley Project. SNU students will join with other college students who have come together at a nazarene college to create a team of 25 or more people. This team will spend three weeks moving around doing outreach ministry. They will perform a wide variety of activities, such as working with kids, doing light construction, painting a church and more.
This is just an overview of the mission trips being offered for 2014. Several other possible mission trips are currently unconfirmed but may very well be happening. If you want to know more about a particular mission trip, the application process or the mission trips in general, then contact Joel Mullen or swing by the Spiritual Development office in the co